I dare you to live forever
by smaragdbird
Summary: When they meet, Kili and Haldir fall hard for each other but they only have one night. (Kili/Haldir)


"Is that fancy bow of yours any good?" Kili called down to the blonde elf standing on the balcony below him. "I heard Elven bows are supposed to be the best but I haven't seen them live up to that reputation yet."

"And you've met many Elven archers I presume?" The elf asked, turning around and facing him with a haughty look in his dark eyes.

"Tons", Kili grinned. "They were all rubbish."

"And what would a dwarf know about archery?"

"I'm the best dwarven archer you'll ever meet."

"You're in all likelihood the only dwarven archer. Being the best obviously doesn't mean much."

"You've met many elves then who hunted Kine of Araw or slayed wargs? Or tracked down crebain to steal their eggs?"

"Anyone can tell stories, dwarf", the elf said, clearly unimpressed, "And none of those deeds necessarily prove your skill with the bow."

"If you want proof of my skills, elf, all you have to do is to ask." It came out a lot more flirtatiously than he had meant to but the spark in the elf's dark eyes told him that he had caught his interest.

"Is that a challenge?"

"Do you want it to be one?" Kili asked back.

"I doubt that it will be one but feel free to prove your words worth."

"How about a bet instead?"

"A bet?" The elf raised his eyebrows but he looked intrigued. "I hope you're prepared to lose."

"Are you?"

"May I know your name before I humiliate you?"

"Kili. And your name is?"

"Haldir of Lorien", the elf said. "Well then, lead the way, Kili." The way he pronounced his name sent a spark of arousal through Kili.

This could be interesting.

/

They kissed furiously as they tore at each other's clothes. The height difference made things awkward and more than once they dissolved into laughter before their lust sparked again, leaving them breathless and wanting. It was a madness of the blood but it was a madness they shared disregarding circumstance and history, only caring about the lure their bodies sang to each other. It was a victory of a sort for both of them.

"You owe me a rematch", Kili said between two frantic kisses.

"Then you will have to find me and call in your favour", Haldir replied, half delirious with pleasure so intense it threatened his sanity. Kili was as seductive as the sweet song of the sea that the great river carried south.

"I will", Kili promised on the height of ecstasy and bliss. Haldir could taste it, the countdown of his heart, his traitorous blood, the mortality that raced through him, shattered and vulnerable and so unbreakable and strong that it overwhelmed him. He kissed him then and it was the sort of kiss that two people shared that knew they would not get another chance at this. Not soon, maybe never.

The night stretched out between them slow and fast, where they screamed each other's names in a passionate frenzy and ignored all the what-ifs and might-have-beens in favour of delirious exhilaration.

Kili's hand gripped Haldir's arm as the perfection and the disaster of it came crashing down around them with the grey of the morning that chased off the rush of the night, the lustre of colours and the madness of their blood's song.

"I need to go", he said, slipping out of bed to get dressed.

"I'll hold you to that rematch", Haldir replied, catching Kili for another kiss and yet another until the first ray of sunlight fell into the dale and took Kili off with it.

/

Haldir only learned of Kili's fate months later. Lorien was isolated by Lady Galadriel's power, rumours that made Dwarves and Men avoid the woods and Thranduil's dislike of her kept the Mirkwood Elves away as well.

He believed that everything went well and Kili was simply too busy to send him a message or come by for a visit. Haldir had grown up under the shadow of the Misty Mountains and never longed to see them up close but since Kili he dreamt of a lone mountain rising against the horizon, the gates displaying the wealth and talent of the people who built them and waiting for him a pair of mischievous dark eyes over an infuriatingly sweet smile.

Lady Galadriel had rarely before asked him to come to her.

"Kili, Thorin's nephew fell during the Battle of the Five Armies", Lady Galadriel told him and her eyes were full of compassion. "I am sorry for your loss."

Haldir felt as if someone had pulled a rope too tightly around his chest and squeezed all the air from it. He barely managed to give his Lady his thanks for sharing those news with him.

Lady Galadriel stepped closer and laid her hand on his shoulder. "The Dwarves may not be Illuvatar's creation but he loves them as well. There will be a time when Death will reunite all of us. I hope you can take comfort in this, as little as it is."

"Thank you", he whispered and when his eyes met hers he knew that she had once suffered a terrible loss as well and in this they were the same.

/

"The dwarf was breathing so loud we could've shot him in the dark", Haldir said and looked at the dwarf with cold eyes. He was just as mortal and vulnerable as Kili had been and one arrow would be enough to end his life as they had ended Kili's.

He should have known better than to let that happen. With the years he had turned his yearning for something he could never have again into regret and finally bitterness. It was easy to ignore in the beauty of Lothlorien but being confronted face to face with one of Kili's people brought back memories he had thought he had buried long ago. One night should have not left him reeling like this but it had. Like the seed of a mallorn tree not allowed to grow but crushed under an orc's heel just when the first sprout had shown.

/

The orc's bastard sword caught him at his arm. Haldir cradled it to his chest, Aragorn's yells ringing in his ears. He stumbled, not noticing the creature behind him.

The pain spreading from his back made his breath catch in his throat. He saw them lying on the ground, orcs and elves, all the same in death. His knees felt soft and gave in. For a moment he caught the shadow of long dark hair. Kili, he wanted to ask but then his eyes clouded with darkness and his soul left for the Undying Lands.

/

"Please tell me you died for something worth dying for and not just because you missed me. I mean I know I'm irresistible but if that was your reason you could've hurried a little."

"Kili?"

"Did you expect anyone else? Because I'd be hurt if you did."

"No."

"You wouldn't have admitted this when I was alive. Did death make you soft?"

"I didn't expect to see you again."

"I'm hard to get rid of."

"I owe you a rematch."

"I'm dead for sixty years and all you can think of is the damn rematch?"

"I meant a different kind of rematch."

"I'm always up for that."

"You'd better be."

Kili's only answer to that was a smug grin which Haldir took great pleasure in kissing off his face.


End file.
